MY CALL: Another passable yet forgettable installment in 80s horror. MORE MOVIES LIKE WitchTrap: I’d stick with Night of the Demons (1988) and Witchboard (1986).
We open with some extra hokey haunting shenanigans with wild camera work. I’m not saying that means this movie can’t be good. But we’re off to a questionable start…
Hired by an heir to the valuable but haunted “Lauter house” estate of his uncle Avery Lauter (J.P. Luebsen; Witchboard)—which is now nicknamed the Slaughterhouse after a recent and unexplainable death—parapsychologist Dr. Agnes Goldberg (Judy Tatum; Witchboard) recruits physical medium Whitney (Kathleen Bailey; Night Visitor), mental medium Felix, and video technician Ginger (Linnea Quigley; Silent Night Deadly Night part 2, The Return of the Living Dead, Night of the Demons, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4, Creepozoids) to investigate and exorcise the Slaughterhouse ghost.
Evidently, Avery Lauter was an alleged warlock of great power, who just may have removed his own heart, which was never found after his death. This movie has loads of long-winded exposition to make sure all viewers understand every little thing ad nauseum. It’s a bit of a struggle and unnecessary—but perhaps superior to the alternative of an ill-explained plot and then having a bunch of unrelated things seemingly happen for no reason (e.g., Ghosthouse). Still, much of this dialogue is just plain painful. There are some excruciating line readings… almost like the actor just had one take and read as if they thought the sentence was going to continue. Enhancing the cheapness, there’s a creepy, horndog, homicidal groundskeeper (Hal Havins; Night of the Demons, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama) who serves no real purpose in the movie.
So our paranormal team arrive at the house, set up recording equipment, get comfortable, and start dying. Let’s assess the death scenes. The showerhead death scene is super brief, but remains oddly satisfying. The “ghost bullet” and ax to the head death scenes were likewise quick but passable. There’s also a lame but gooey wax-melting death. But there’s nothing special about the death scenes of effects. Each medium has bouts of spasms as Avery’s ghost attempts to manifest through them. And when Avery speaks through the physical medium Felix, we never feel much urgency.
In the end, our hero captures Avery’s spirit essence in a Ghostbusters-ripped off containment unit while they reunited his cursed heart with his remains in the sacrilegious chapel in the attic of the house. Then, just like in Witchboard 1-2, our ghost possesses Whitney, finishes his ritual of immortality, manifests his physical form, and dies with the destruction of the remains of his heart.
This movie is not Kevin Tenney’s (The Cellar, Night of the Demons, Witchboard, Witchboard 2) best work. Not horrible. But also not good. Pretty forgettable, though.
